BELVIDERE - Demry Croft's Plan A would have been Plan B for Boylan coach Mike Winters.

"There was 10 feet between him and the rim and no one there," Winters said after Croft's 10-foot bank shot with three seconds left gave Boylan a 62-60 victory over defending NIC-10 champion Belvidere.

"I expected him to take a dribble and dunk it. Instead, he shoots it off the glass. Whatever works."

The 6-foot-6 Croft scored only six points but made Boylan's two biggest baskets. The other was a 12-foot baseline jumper with 1:38 left for a 58-55 lead.

"They totally forgot about him," said Brock Stull, who led Boylan with 18 points.

Belvidere did. Boylan didn't.

"I trust him more than anyone on the team when it comes down to it," Stull said.

When players get that far open, Winters said, sometimes they freeze. Croft never hesitated. On either shot.

"I was open and I just shot it. I just wanted to put the ball in the hole," Croft said. "I never really expected it, but a game-winning shot is fun."

No. 10 state-ranked Boylan (9-5, 4-1) never led by more than five points. Belvidere (10-4, 3-2) never led by more than three. The two were almost evenly matched, from rebounds (Boylan led 40-39) to shooting (both made 22 baskets, Boylan on 51 shots and Belvidere on 50).

There were eight lead changes (plus five ties) in the third-quarter, but Belvidere never led after Stull hit a 3-pointer for a 51-50 lead early in the fourth quarter. The Bucs tied it twice, the first when Maurice Jackson (18 points) made three free throws after Croft's first basket. The second when Tyler Lass (10 points despite constant foul trouble) scored on a layup on a pass from Colton Bahling with 14 seconds left.

That made up for Bahling fouling Avery Zucchi (14 points), who made two free throws with 28 seconds left. Bahling was going for a steal and a breakaway layup and just missed. Sort of the story of the game for Belvidere.

"He was very close, but tonight we were a step behind on a lot of things," Belvidere coach Aaron Pearson said. "We have to execute better, but we're close."

Boylan won because it made the close plays.

Bahling's near-steal "and a whole bunch of other plays were close," Winters said. "We were out of rhythm offensively, but we made some really good toughness plays in the fourth quarter. We didn't turn the ball over. We got just enough rebounds and just enough stops in the fourth quarter. We made our free throws. The toughness plays decided the game for us."

Belvidere's last gasp came when football quarterback Garrett Hyser's long inbounds pass went off the fingertips of Joe Byers (17 points) at halfcourt.

Page 2 of 2 - "Colton was wide open next to me streaking to the basket," Byers said. "I'll put that one on me, not the quarterback. He's the one who throws. I should have caught it with two hands."